Adjustable sucker

ABSTRACT

An improved sucker for handling thin flexible sheets of material such as paper has a shank and head in L-shaped configuration, a vacuum port in the head connected to an air or vacuum passage in the shank, a spring with a flat suction face overlying the port, a gasket around the port and between the spring and the head, air passage means through the spring and gasket connected to the port, and an adjusting means such as a screw to move or flex the spring member whereby to change the angle presented by the spring suction face to the flexible sheet of material that is to be engaged and moved thereby.

United States Patent [72] lnventor Robert Cohn Millbrae, Calif. [21]Appl. No. 872,565 [22] Filed Oct. 30,1969 [45] Patented June 22, 1971[73] Assignee U.S. Plywood-Champion Papers Inc.

Hamilton, Ohio [54] ADJUSTABLE SUCKER 9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 271/26 [51] int. Cl a a B6511 3/08 [50] Field of Search271/26, 27, 29, 20, 28, 30, 31; 294/64 [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 2,310,995 2/1943 Robinson 271/26 X 3,042,396 7/1962 Cole271/26 Primary Examiner-.1 oseph Wegbreit Assistant Examiner-Bruce H.Stoner, J r. Attorney-Daniel P. Worth ABSTRACT: An improved sucker forhandling thin flexible sheets of material such as paper has a shank andhead in L- shaped configuration, a vacuum port in the head connected toan air or vacuum passage in the shank, a spring with a flat suction faceoverlying the port, a gasket around the port and between the spring andthe head, air passage means through the spring and gasket connected tothe port, and an adjusting means such as a screw to move or flex thespring member whereby to change the angle presented by the springsuction face to the flexible sheet of material that is to be engaged andmoved thereby.

TO VACUUM SOURCE 20 43 I Fvfi i 22 24 F- a 23 r Lil a J PATEN'TED 'JUN22I97! .3. TO VACUUM SOURCE FIGI- IN VENTOR ROBERT COHN m fizww;

ATTORNEY ADJUSTABLE SUCKER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates to an improved sucker for handling thin flexible sheets ofmaterial such as paper and the like.

Printing presses, envelope machines and similar apparatus handle variousweights and types of paper. Vacuum is commonly used to remove a papersheet from a stack of sheets and feed it into the press, etc. However,each type of paper responds differently to the feeding mechanism andwhere a vacuum feed device (herein called a sucker) is employed it hasoften been necessary to change the angle at which the sucker engagesthe'sheet of paper in order to achieve satisfactory handling.

Changing this angle has in the past been accomplished a number ofdifferent ways including: bending the sucker to a different position;filing or hammering the face of the sucker to get a different angle;maintaining a set of different suckers and applying to the machine thatsucker which seems to work best; rubber or resilient suckers as inRobinson's US. Pat. No. 2,310,995; adjustable surfaces near a set ofvacuum ports as in US. Pat. No. 3,042,396 issued to Herman Cole in July1962 which tend to crimp or bend the sheet in the course of picking itup; crimping devices of various sorts, e.g., as in Blaine's US. Pat. No.1,585,368 and Cleathero's US. Pat. No. 740,534.

The suckers used in modern day machinery should preferably be light inweight and simple to adjust, requiring minimum downtime for adjustment.Some of the prior art suckers are large, bulky, and heavy creatinginertia problems when machinery must be operated at high speed, oraltematively being limited to certain speed ranges.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an adjustablesucker that is suitable for use in vacuum operated sheet feeding systemsand the like, using the feeding of paper in a printing press by way ofexample, not limitation. It is still another object to provide animproved sucker especially suitable for higher speed operations, e.g.,the feeding in excess of 750 sheets per minute. An object is to providean improved sucker suitable for systems feeding from the bottom of astack. Advantages and features of the present invention includeproviding a sucker that has a positively controlled adjustment, arelatively simple construction, and which permits making changes withonly small amounts of downtime.

Other objects, advantages and features will become apparent from areading of the following disclosure in conjunction with the annexeddrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a vertical longitudinal cross sectional view of an adjustablesucker;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the adjustable sucker of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a view of the spring.

Referring now to the drawings, an adjustable sucker made according tothe present invention is mounted on a means (not shown) such as a crossshaft which may be driven by means not shown through an oscillatingrepetitive movement to bring the sucker into and out of engagement witha sheet and cause the sheet to be passed on to other handling meansafter withdrawal from the bottom of the stack. Alternatively, the suckermay be mounted on a reciprocatable member (not shown) that is part of acarriage which moves back and forth in order to accomplish theengagement of the sucker with a sheet and movement of the sheet to thenext sheet handling device or operation in sequence.

As illustrated, the adjustable sucker 20 is secured to cooperating partsby a set screw holding it into a sucker mount that is in turn mounted ona cross shaft. Suitable pipe fittings and flexible hose connect theinside of the mount and of the sucker to a suitable source of vacuum.Suitable vacuum controls may also be interposed in the system, but sincethey are known and form no part of the present invention are not furtherdescribed herein and similarly as to other mechanical contrivances whichmay be associated with the present invention when applied to one oranother sort of machine.

An adjustable sucker 20 according to the present invention is preferablymade of a lightweight metal, e.g., aluminum and has a hollow shank 21and a head 22 that depends from said shank. The head and shank togetherform an L-shaped structure. The head has a V-shaped lower face 23 with aport 24 therein. Around the port the head is counterbored to provide arecess 25 in which the gasket is received. Right at the apex 26 of the Vis a slot 27 which, as discussed further below, serves to maintain theresilient spring member in position.

The resilient spring member 28 underlays the lower face 23 of the head.ln this lower face, which is V-shaped, the port 24 is shown as beingentirely in one face. The spring member 28 has a suction face portion 29which at least partly surrounds the port. Suction face 29 is preferably(as shown) flat but can be contoured. Preferably the suction faceportion completely surrounds the port. The spring is necked down at 30whereby the spring bends or flexes at 30 when changes are made.

A resilient elastomeric gasket 31 is held in compression between thesuction face of the spring member and the recess 25. There are vacuum(or air) passage means 32 through both the suction face and the gasketto establish communication to the atmosphere through them to the port24. The gasket provides a sealed path between the port 24 and flatsuction face 29. In this manner, vacuum applied through the passageway34 in the shank is applied to a sheet of material at the suction facethereby causing said sheet of material to travel with the sucker to thenext operation or mechanism in the process or machine concerned, be it aprinting press, envelope machine, or the like. The gasket is preferablymade of a soft material such as pure gum rubber.

Finally, there is provided a screw 43 which passes through hole 44 inthe spring and serves as a means for moving or adjusting the suctionface 29 relative to the lower face 23 of the head whereby the angle ofthe suction face is altered. lt is alteration of this angle that permitsan operator to adjust a machine for handling a different weight and typeof paper. The screw threadedly engages the shank at tapped holes 46.

At the remote end of the suction face is a rib 36 which stands atapproximately right angles to the face 29 and which engages the slot 27.This positionally and positively locates the resilient member and alsoassists in maintaining it in position.

The saddle or tail end 37 of the spring member is shaped to correspondto the outer contours of the shank. Preferably (and as illustrated) theshank is circular in which case the saddle portion of the spring memberis also made circular and faired into the suction face portion. Thechannel or U cross section renders the saddle 37 rigid hence encouragesor enhances flexure at the neck 30.

As noted in the drawing, the screw is threadedly engaged with the shankand is located in the middle portion of the screw member. By turning thescrew so that it advances into the shank, increased compression isapplied to the spring and the saddle and suction face are moved towardthe shank. Adjustment in the opposite direction is obtained by movingthe screw out of the shank.

What I claim is:

1. An improved sucker for handling thin flexible sheets of material suchas paper and the like comprising a shank with a first passage therein;

a head depending from said shank and having a second passage extendingfrom said first passage to a port in the lower face of said head;

a resilient spring member underlaying said head lower face and having asuction face at least partly surrounding said P a resilient elastomericgasket compressed between said suction face and said lower face; passagemeans from said port through said gasket and said suction face; and

means to move said suction face relative to said lower face whereby theangle that a flexible sheet is engaged by said suction face is changed.

2. A sucker according to claim 1 wherein said shank and said headtogether are an L-shaped structure.

3. A sucker according to claim 2 wherein said spring member is locatedwith one end resting on said shank and the other end, which is saidsuction face, on said lower face.

4. A sucker according to claim 3 wherein said means to move is a screwthreadedly engaging said shank and passing through the middle portion ofsaid spring member.

5. A sucker according to claim 1 wherein said suction face completelysurrounds said port.

6. A sucker according to claim 1 wherein said head lower face isV-shaped, said port is in one of the surfaces forming the V-shape, andsaid suction face overlays only said one surface.

7. A sucker according to claim 3 wherein said spring member is neckeddown at a place between said suction face and said other end.

8. A sucker according to claim 4 wherein said spring member is neckeddown at a location between said suction face and middle portion.

9. A sucker according to claim 7 wherein said spring member has achannel cross section adjacent said other end.

1. An improved sucker for handling thin flexible sheets of material suchas paper and the like comprising a shank with a first passage therein; ahead depending from said shank and having a second passage extendingfrom said first passage to a port in the lower face of said head; aresilient spring member underlaying said head lower face and having asuction face at least partly surrounding said port; a resilientelastomeric gasket compressed between said suction face and said lowerface; passage means from said port through said gasket and said suctionface; and means to move said suction face relative to said lower facewhereby the angle that a flexible sheet is engaged by said suction faceis changed.
 2. A sucker according to claim 1 wherein said shank and saidhead together are an L-shaped structure.
 3. A sucker according to claim2 wherein said spring member is located with one end resting on saidshank and the other end, which is said suction face, on said lower face.4. A sucker according to claim 3 wherein said means to move is a screwthreadedly engaging said shank and passing through the middle portion ofsaid spring member.
 5. A sucker according to claim 1 wherein saidsuction face completely surrounds said port.
 6. A sucker according toclaim 1 wherein said head lower face is V-shaped, said port is in one ofthe surfaces forming the V-shape, and said suction face overlays onlysaid one surface.
 7. A sucker according to claim 3 wherein said springmember is necked down at a place between said suction face and saidother end.
 8. A sucker according to claim 4 wherein said spring memberis necked down at a location between said suction face and middleportion.
 9. A sucker according to claim 7 wherein said spring member hasa channel cross section adjacent said other end.